New SWAT team has Bergen County leaders at odds

By JOHN C. ENSSLIN

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

Bergen County law enforcement officials have activated a new regional SWAT team over the objections of County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who considers the unit unnecessary and has warned that towns taking part risk potential liability.

But critics say Donovan is resorting to "scare tactics" by raising an issue that has already been resolved. They contend that her objections are part of a larger ongoing battle over the future of the County Police.

Meanwhile, there will be a patchwork of possible responses the next time a hostage situation or mass shooting occurs in Bergen County. Local police chiefs will be able to choose between the 45-member regional SWAT or the 20-member County Police SWAT. Seven towns also can call upon their own SWAT units.

County Prosecutor John Molinelli activated the regional SWAT in January, nearly two years after his office and local police chiefs began studying ways to consolidate those services.

The regional SWAT is drawn from the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, the Prosecutor's Office and 17 officers from various local police departments. They are organized into three 15-member squads. There is also a waiting list of officers who are interested in serving with the unit.

Molinelli will reimburse the participating towns with an annual stipend of $5,000 per officer with money his office has confiscated in criminal cases, just as he does with other shared units, like the fatal accident and computer crime units.

So far, the regional SWAT has not been called out, Molinelli said Friday. In a typical year, there are about 22-24 incidents calling for a SWAT response, he said.

Local police chiefs — who will continue to serve as incident commanders in SWAT situations — will decide which unit to call. Molinelli said he expects that eventually most of those calls will go to the regional SWAT.

Donovan, however, says the new unit is an unnecessary drain of resources that duplicates work already done more efficiently over the last 40 years by the County Police SWAT.

She sent a letter last month advising local mayors that the county will not defend any lawsuits that result from the actions of individual municipal police officers on loan to the SWAT team.

"I will not obligate and saddle the taxpayers of Bergen County with any liability expenses or costs associated with this plan," Donovan wrote in a Jan. 22 letter.

Molinelli emailed local police chiefs and told them to ignore Donovan's letter. He said the law enforcement and risk managers who helped create the new unit researched and resolved the insurance issue long ago.

"I regret that County Executive Donovan issued her letter to the mayors and empathize with many of you who received frantic calls or emails from them," Molinelli wrote in a Feb. 3 letter to all the county's police chiefs.

Molinelli got support for his position from the director of a joint self-insurance fund that represents about 61 of Bergen County's 70 towns.

David Grubb, executive director of the Bergen County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, sent a Jan. 30 letter to mayors and council members, assuring them that the governmental self-insurance pool will cover any of their SWAT officers working within the scope of their authority.

Grubb also contends Donovan is mistaken in thinking she can deflect any of the county's liability simply by saying so in a letter.

"Just sending out a letter does not change their relative responsibility," Grubb said last week.

He also noted that taxpayers ultimately pay the bill regardless of whether it involves the county or municipal self-insurance pools.

"We are all in a situation where we are all trying to protect the same group … the taxpayers," Grubb added.

Donovan, however, found support for her position in a Jan. 31 letter written by Thomas B. Hanrahan, attorney for the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association.

Hanrahan wrote to association President and Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli that from an operational point of view, the chiefs should comply with the directive from Molinelli, who oversees law enforcement in the county.

But Hanrahan said he agreed with Donovan's position on liability, citing case law from lawsuits in two state Appellate Court rulings involving municipal police officers serving on a county task force.

"Based upon the information I have reviewed to date, it seems clear that those local police officers who serve on the Regional SWAT Team may expose their municipalities to liability for their officers' conduct," Hanrahan wrote.

Batelli said it will be up to individual chiefs to decide what SWAT unit to use. He plans to stick with the County Police, saying he's pleased with the work they have done in the past.

The dispute over the SWAT team comes amid a political and legal battle over the future of the 88-member County Police Department.

The freeholders have approved merging the County Police into the Sheriff's Office, a move that Donovan has contested in court.

Last week, Democratic Freeholder Steve Tanelli accused Donovan of using "scare tactics" by sending her letter to local officials. He called on the freeholders to support the regional SWAT team.

Molinelli said he tried without success to persuade County Police Chief Brian Higgins to join and take over command of the regional SWAT. Molinelli said he thought highly of the County Police SWAT members.

"I just wish they were all part of the regional SWAT," he said.

Higgins said it was impractical to have his unit merged into a larger regional unit. His officers are used to working with one another and as a result are more efficient as a team.

He also said the new regional unit flies in the face of what he has been trying to do with the County SWAT, which is to de-emphasize a military-type response in situations where there are better, less-than-lethal, alternatives.

As an example, he cited an incident on Friday in North Arlington where a woman facing eviction had barricaded herself and her dog inside her house.

There was no evidence, however, of any firearms. So instead of sending SWAT officers, the county sent its Emergency Services unit, a two-officer team armed with a Taser and a dog snare.

After the woman saw the spark of the Taser gun, Higgins said she surrendered and the dog was snared without incident.

Higgins said there are situations where a SWAT response is necessary. But he said going to a bigger regional SWAT was a step in the wrong direction.

New SWAT team has Bergen County leaders at odds

Bergen County law enforcement officials have activated a new regional SWAT team over the objections of County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who considers the unit unnecessary and has warned that towns taking part risk potential liability.

But critics say Donovan is resorting to "scare tactics" by raising an issue that has already been resolved. They contend that her objections are part of a larger ongoing battle over the future of the County Police.

Meanwhile, there will be a patchwork of possible responses the next time a hostage situation or mass shooting occurs in Bergen County. Local police chiefs will be able to choose between the 45-member regional SWAT or the 20-member County Police SWAT. Seven towns also can call upon their own SWAT units.

County Prosecutor John Molinelli activated the regional SWAT in January, nearly two years after his office and local police chiefs began studying ways to consolidate those services.

The regional SWAT is drawn from the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, the Prosecutor's Office and 17 officers from various local police departments. They are organized into three 15-member squads. There is also a waiting list of officers who are interested in serving with the unit.

Molinelli will reimburse the participating towns with an annual stipend of $5,000 per officer with money his office has confiscated in criminal cases, just as he does with other shared units, like the fatal accident and computer crime units.

So far, the regional SWAT has not been called out, Molinelli said Friday. In a typical year, there are about 22-24 incidents calling for a SWAT response, he said.

Local police chiefs — who will continue to serve as incident commanders in SWAT situations — will decide which unit to call. Molinelli said he expects that eventually most of those calls will go to the regional SWAT.

Donovan, however, says the new unit is an unnecessary drain of resources that duplicates work already done more efficiently over the last 40 years by the County Police SWAT.

She sent a letter last month advising local mayors that the county will not defend any lawsuits that result from the actions of individual municipal police officers on loan to the SWAT team.

"I will not obligate and saddle the taxpayers of Bergen County with any liability expenses or costs associated with this plan," Donovan wrote in a Jan. 22 letter.

Molinelli emailed local police chiefs and told them to ignore Donovan's letter. He said the law enforcement and risk managers who helped create the new unit researched and resolved the insurance issue long ago.

"I regret that County Executive Donovan issued her letter to the mayors and empathize with many of you who received frantic calls or emails from them," Molinelli wrote in a Feb. 3 letter to all the county's police chiefs.

Molinelli got support for his position from the director of a joint self-insurance fund that represents about 61 of Bergen County's 70 towns.

David Grubb, executive director of the Bergen County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, sent a Jan. 30 letter to mayors and council members, assuring them that the governmental self-insurance pool will cover any of their SWAT officers working within the scope of their authority.

Grubb also contends Donovan is mistaken in thinking she can deflect any of the county's liability simply by saying so in a letter.

"Just sending out a letter does not change their relative responsibility," Grubb said last week.

He also noted that taxpayers ultimately pay the bill regardless of whether it involves the county or municipal self-insurance pools.

"We are all in a situation where we are all trying to protect the same group … the taxpayers," Grubb added.

Donovan, however, found support for her position in a Jan. 31 letter written by Thomas B. Hanrahan, attorney for the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association.

Hanrahan wrote to association President and Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli that from an operational point of view, the chiefs should comply with the directive from Molinelli, who oversees law enforcement in the county.